Kazakh Ilyushin Il-76 Transporting Weapons From North Korea to Iran

Today, Thai authorities announced that the Il-76 transport plane carrying 35 tons of North Korean weapons that they grounded last year was headed for Iran. The secret delivery route went something like this: Azerbaijan to United Arab Emirates to Bangkok to North Korea (pick up weapons) to Bangkok to Sri Lanka to United Arab Emirates to Ukraine to Iran (drop off weapons) to Montenegro. Wow! That's a lot of frequent flyer miles. U.S. intelligence tipped off the Thais just before the plane landed in Bangkok the second time.

What is truly amazing is the plane itself, the Il-76. This cargo plane was the American C-17's nemesis. It's capable of carrying 40 tons of hardware 5,000 km in less than six hours and land in short and rough runways.

Approximately 860 of these were made in Uzbekistan for military and civilian use.

Most of the troops and freight the Soviets brought into Afghanistan were carried in Il-76s. The video below says it all. They were terrifying. And what about those parachuting APCs with retro-rockets?!